More Foul Deeds & Suspicious Deaths in Barnsley

By Geoffrey Howse

Barnsley and the surrounding area has a dark and sinister past. There were many foul deeds committed throughout the centuries of the most heinous kind -and many suspicious circumstances. Poverty was at the root of many of the early cases. During the Victorian period some seemingly uncaring magistrates appeared to take the view that to be poor was a crime to be dealt with severely and meted out extreme penalties. The unhappy state of some criminals resulted in ending their days in the workhouse. Throughout the 20th century the area was periodically rocked with murder cases which often made the national headlines.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Aug 16, 2007
• ISBN: 9781783378470

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

An Assortment of Crimes and Foul Deeds in Barnsley and District 1854–1995

BIGAMY AT WORSBROUGH, 1854

…she knew he was already married.

On Wednesday 11 June 1855, James Dalton appeared at the Yorkshire Summer Assizes at York before Mr Justice Crowder, charged with bigamy. The Hon Mr Wortley prosecuted. The court heard that on 20 May 1844 the prisoner had married Mary Rawbottom at Wigan in Lancashire. Then, on 22 April 1854, he married Maria Davies at Worsbrough, his wife Mary at that time and on the day of the trial, still being alive. Dalton’s defence brought into question the fidelity of his first wife and it was established that she and he had mutually agreed to separate. On being found guilty of the charge the judge explained the leniency of the sentence – one month’s imprisonment. This was because Dalton’s second wife had not been deceived, as she knew he was already married.

The village of Worsbrough with St Mary’s Church at its heart. Chris Sharp of Old Barnsley

ASSAULT AND ROBBERY AT WORSBROUGH, 1854

…assaulted and robbed William Robinson of a watch and other articles…

On Wednesday 5 December 1854, Amos Mellor, aged twenty-four, of Worsbrough, appeared at York Assizes before Mr Justice Crowder. He was indicted for having assaulted and robbed William Robinson of a watch and other articles at Worsbrough on 12 November. Found guilty, he was sentenced to six years penal servitude.

VIOLENT ASSAULT BY FURNACEMEN AT HOYLAND, APRIL 1855

…he was attacked by the three men without provocation and severely beaten.

On Friday and Saturday 1 and 2 June 1855, William Walker was the presiding judge at the monthly courts held at Barnsley Court House. On Friday, one of the first cases to be heard was that of Luke Walton v Robert Hodgson, Edward Ward and Benjamin Gadd. All four men were residents of Kitroyd, Hoyland and all were in the employ of Messrs Dawes at Milton Ironworks - as furnacemen. Mr Tyas appeared for Mr Walton, the plaintiff and Mr Hamer for the defendants. The action was brought to recover £8 damages for an assault that took place on 8 April. On that day, as Mr Walton was returning home from work he was - according to one person’s testimony - attacked by the three men without provocation and severely beaten. It was Hodgson who actually inflicted the blows while his codefendants egged him on. Robert Hodgson said that on the night of 1 April he had been in the company of Luke Walton and that Walton had called him ‘rotten’, afterwards saying he was ‘not a man, and could soon break him to pieces’. In his efforts to prove that Walton was the actually aggressor, Hodgson failed. The judge expressed that although Walton was not entirely free from blame, the defendant Walton was the worst of the pair and ought to pay some damages. In passing judgement against Hodgson, he discharged Ward and Gadd. Hodgson was ordered to pay £5 damages and costs amounting to twenty-five shillings. He was further ordered to pay these in instalments of £1 per month.

STABBING AT GAWBER, MAY 1955

They have run something into me.

On Wednesday 6 June 1855, Thomas Turner of Gawber and a boy named William White appeared at Barnsley Court House before G Wentworth, T Taylor, V Corbett and the Rev W Wordsworth, charged with a serious assault upon Mr T Fieldsend of Higham on Saturday 19 May. On that day Mr Fieldsend had been in Barnsley and began his return journey home at nightfall. He was overtaken by Thomas Turner and some other men near Jordan Hill when, without any particular reason, declared that he wished to fight Mr Fieldsend. The latter, having no wish to fight declined and continued his journey home. A while later Mr Fieldsend arrived at Gawber Hall, where several men were gathered near a corner. As he passed by some stones were thrown at him. Once again Turner stepped forward from the group and said to Fieldsend:

Thou art bound to fight here.

Gawber Hall, near where Mr T Fieldsend was stabbed in 1855. Chris Sharp of Old Barnsley

Mr Fieldsend once again refused but within moments was heard to call out:

They have run something into me.

The court was shown Mr Fieldsend’s bloodstained trousers and a stocking saturated with blood. Dr Jackson testified as to the serious nature of Mr Fieldsend’s injuries. The Bench inflicted a penalty of £5 on Turner and White or the option to spend two months in Wakefield Gaol.

ASSAULT ON AN APPRENTICE, BARNSLEY, 1856

Mr Senior came over and struck him on both sides of the head with his hands.

Cabinetmaker Charles Senior of Graham’s Orchard, Barnsley, appeared before magistrates at Barnsley Court House on Wednesday 5 March 1856, charged with assaulting his apprentice, William Umpleby, on 26 February. Mr Tyas appeared for the complainant and Mr Hamer for the defendant. William Umpleby said he entered service as an apprentice with Mr Senior in October 1854. For the first year, during which time he was to receive no wages, all went well. However, since October 1855, when he had begun to receive a wage, Mr Senior’s ill-treatment of him had commenced. On 26 February another boy asked Umpleby to help him move a sofa, which he refused to do, having already been given a task requiring his more immediate attention. However, on hearing Umpleby’s refusal to help the boy, Mr Senior came over and struck him on both sides of the head with his hands. Mr Hamer argued that as his employer Mr Senior had a right to chastise his apprentice if he had done wrong. When the agreement between Charles Senior and William Umpleby was examined it was discovered to have been drawn up on paper with a half-crown stamp, and not properly formalised. No damages were awarded but Charles Senior, was ordered to pay 7s 6d costs.

THE WOMBWELL STABBING CASE, 1860

… I found a wound in his left temple, three inches in length, cut down to the bone.

On Monday 9 July 1860, Nathanial Alsopp, a miner, who was employed at Wombwell Main found himself in the dock at Barnsley Court House, before Thomas Taylor, Esq, and Colonel Daly. Alsopp was charged with cutting and wounding Thomas Whalley, at Wombwell, on the night of 30 June. The delay in hearing the case was in consequence of the prosecutor, Thomas Whalley being unable to attend and give evidence, as a result of him not having until that time, sufficiently recovered from the injuries inflicted upon him by Alsopp. In his evidence Whalley told the court that he was a collier and worked in the same pit as the defendant, Alsopp. It transpired that on Saturday 30 June he was with Alsopp and others at the Horseshoes public house, Wombwell, and they all left together after their drinking session, at about twelve o’clock.

The men resided about a mile from the Horseshoes. After they had walked a distance of about a quarter of a mile Whalley said to Alsopp that he thought he was a shabby fellow for calling for a quart of ale and not paying for it. Alsopp’s response was to call Whalley ‘a fucking rogue’, to which Whalley replied that if he repeated the words again he would give him a smack in the mouth. A fight then broke out between the two men and it lasted for several rounds, although no indication was given as to exactly how long this impromptu fight actually lasted. During the last round Whalley said that he discovered he had been stabbed in several places. He called out: ‘I have been stabbed’ at which point Alsopp promptly took to his heels and fled the scene. Whalley’s evidence was corroborated in every detail by John Gaffney, collier, one of the party who had left the Horseshoes with Whalley and Alsopp. Gaffney added that when Whalley complained of having being stabbed, Alsopp said: ‘I think the bastard has got enough, I don’t think he will come again.’ He also gave evidence that he did not see the prisoner have anything in his hand. However, William Wison, a collier, stated that he saw the prisoner put his right hand into his trouser pocket, and take out something, although he had been unable to see exactly what it was.

Wombwell Main, where Nathanial Alsopp was employed. Chris Sharp of Old Barnsley

When Police Constable John Bridgett arrested Alsopp, the prisoner denied all knowledge of having stabbed Whalley. However, there were bloodstains on his clothes. Whalley’s own clothes, saturated with blood, were also shown in evidence. Mr J R L Hallett gave evidence to the nature of the injuries received by Whalley. He told the court:

The Horseshoes, Wombwell, where Nathanial Alsopp was drinking with Thomas Whalley on Monday 9 July 1860. Chris Sharp of Old Barnsley

I am a surgeon at Hoyland Nether. On Sunday morning, the 1st July, I was called upon to go to Wombwell Main. I went and saw the prosecutor. I found a wound in his left temple, three inches in length, cut down to the bone. A cut on the outer corner of the left eyebrow. Another from the middle of the ear, entering into the cheek, two and a half inches in length. A slight cut in the neck. Another on the left corner of the upper lip penetrating into the mouth. Another cut or stab two inches below the left arm pit. The wounds, eight in number, were not of a dangerous character. The patient was in a very low condition from loss of blood.

The prisoner, who appeared greatly affected by the evidence given, said that it was all owing to getting too much liquor, or it would never have happened. Alsopp told the court that he had a wife and children in Lancashire, and they would be ‘clamming’ (starving) in consequence of his being locked up. He said that he had never until this time in his life appeared before a magistrate, and would take care that he never was before one again. He added that he would give up drinking from that time.

It was reported in the Barnsley Chronicle that Mr Taylor addressed the prisoner in ‘a most feeling manner in the nature of his offence and the evil effects of intoxication’. He told Alsopp that he and his brother magistrate, having taken all the circumstances into considerations had decided to treat the case as one of common assault. Alsopp was fined £5.00 or in default, two months hard labour. The prisoner told the court that he had £2 2s. owing to him in wages, and he thought he could raise the remainder if they gave him time. Alsopp was then removed to the lock-up.

ASSAULT AT HOYLAND NETHER, 1860

…she had thrown a basin into the defendant’s house, and a poker at her door.

When Elizabeth Smith of Hoyland brought a charge of assault against her neighbour, Jane Banks, in September 1860, the outcome of the hearing held at Barnsley Court House was not what the prosecutor had expected. Magistrate Thomas Taylor Esq listened to the evidence placed before him. He was informed that the two women had for some time lived at variance with each other and that on the previous Friday matters came to a head, in consequence of something that was said. The two women came to blows, the defendant, Banks, striking the complainant, Smith, over the back and arm with a poker, inflicting a severe injury. During the course of the evidence placed before the court the complainant admitted that in the lead up to these events, she had thrown a basin into the defendant’s house, and a poker at her door. After a few moments of deliberation with his colleagues, the chairman said that as the complainant was the first to use the poker, she must pay the expenses of bringing the case before the court, which amounted to 15s. 6d. No further action was taken in respect of the assault.

SAVED BY HIS ELOQUENCE, ELSECAR, 1860

…prisoner pleaded a perfect state of non-responsibility and obliviousness…

On the evening of Sunday 16 September 1860, James Taylor found himself in police custody charged with ‘pocketing’ two half-pint drinking glasses and a ‘mug’, the property of Edwin Pepper, proprietor of the Stubbin Hotel, Elsecar. When he appeared at Barnsley Court House the following week, his eloquence and earnestness must have raised a wry smile or two. The prisoner pleaded a perfect state of non-responsibility and obliviousness, through having permitted too easy an access to his mouth of an enemy who ‘stole away his brains’, in the temporary absence of which he himself became an unwilling purloiner of the articles mentioned. Presumably as a result of Mr Taylor’s eloquence, and perhaps after reflecting on matters concerning the provision of the said ‘enemy’ for ready money to the defendant by himself, Mr Pepper did not press the charges, and the prisoner was discharged with a severe reprimand from the magistrates. Taylor was also warned that if he ever committed himself in the same way again it might be worse for him. On paying the court’s expenses he was discharged.

A Victorian view looking up Stubbin (now Hill Street), Elsecar. Author’s collection

SMALL FINE FOR ASSAULT ON A CONSTABLE AT HOYLE MILL, 1862

…assault on Police Constable Coates, at Ridsdale’s public-house…

In February 1862, James Walker was fined one shilling and costs, for an assault on Police Constable Coates, at Ridsdale’s public house, Hoyle Mill. His fellow reveller, James Airstone, charged with aiding and abetting was discharged. The smallness of the fine was in consequence of Constable Coates having ‘laid open’ Walker’s head with his truncheon.

WOMAN REPRIMANDED FOR STEALING FROM THE WORKHOUSE AT BARNSLEY, 1862

…for leaving her children destitute in the Sheffield Road.

On Monday 10 February 1862, Mary Rushforth appeared before Thomas Taylor, Esq at Barnsley Court House. Mary Rushforth, who had at various times been an inmate of the workhouse, was charged with taking away clothes belonging to the Union. On the night of Friday 7 February she left the workhouse with the clothes in her possession. She, having two children in the workhouse, returned the following morning minus the clothes she had taken. Police Superintendent Greenhalgh told the court that the woman had previously been before the magistrates for leaving her children destitute in the Sheffield Road. Mr Taylor gave Mary Rushforth a severe reprimand and told her if she repeated the offence she would be sent to the House of Correction at Wakefield.

An Edwardian view of Sheffield Road, Barnsley, showing the mostly early and mid-nineteenth century buildings which would have been familiar to Mary Rushforth. Chris Sharp of Old Barnsley

PERSISTENT OFFENDER GIVEN OPTION, 1862

…obtaining goods by false pretences…

On Wednesday 26 February 1862, Emma Winter, a persistent offender, appeared at Barnsley Court House and pleaded guilty to pawning a gown to the value of twelve shillings, the property of Emma Beevers. Police Superintendent Greenhalgh told the court that there were several charges against her for obtaining goods by false pretences, but these were not gone into. The bench ordered her to pay a fine of twenty shillings, or in default, to be imprisoned in the House of Correction for one month.

STARVING WIFE DEPRIVED OF HUSBAND, 1862

… in consequence of his wife being in a state of actual starvation.

During the last week of February 1862, William Manning of Barnsley appeared before Thomas Taylor, Esq at Barnsley Court House, charged with stealing a brass tap and some lead piping from the premises of Mr T Cordeux, in Pitt Street, on 20 February. Manning pleaded guilty to the offence and in mitigation said he had been actuated to commit the felony in consequence of his wife being in a state of starvation. He was sentenced to three months imprisonment at Wakefield, with hard labour, under the Vagrancy Act.

ASSAULTS ON POLICE IN JUNE 1864

…he found a fellow constable was being kicked and beaten upon the floor by several men…

A powerful looking fellow named Henry Rusby appeared in the dock at Barnsley Court House on Wednesday 30 June 1864, charged with assaulting Police Constable Robinson at Green Moor on 4 June. Police Constable Robinson, having been ill for some time, had only returned to duty on the day the assault against him took place. On the day in question Police Constable Robinson was on foot patrol and, observing a large number of people behaving in a disorderly manner outside a public house at Green Moor, walked up to them and requested that they disperse and retire peaceably to their houses. This they did. As Police Constable Robinson walked away, the prisoner in the dock, Rusby, called out